Use of Latent Profile Analysis in Studies of Gifted Students

Abstract

To date, in gifted education and related fields various conventional factor analytic and clustering techniques have been used extensively for investigation of the underlying structure of data. Latent profile analysis is a relatively new method in the field. In this article, we provide an introduction to latent profile analysis for gifted education researchers. We briefly trace the history of this method, focusing particularly on advancements of latent class models and their advantages over traditional clustering approaches. This is followed by the overview of statistical indicators that can be used to choose an optimal model. We illustrate use of latent profile analysis in the field through a sample study on the Big Five personality types of gifted students.

Keywords:

• clustering approaches
• latent profile analysis
• studies of gifted students

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sakhavat Mammadov

Sakhavat Mammadov has recently completed his PhD at William & Mary in the Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership program with an emphasis in gifted education. Sakhavat worked as a graduate research assistant for the William & Mary Center for Gifted Education between 2012 and 2016 and will join the Halbert and Nancy Robinson Center for Young Scholars at the University of Washington as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate. He earned a BS degree in teaching mathematics and MA degree in elementary education from Boğaziçi University, Turkey. Sakhavat has worked with gifted children and their families for many years in a variety of contexts. His research interests focus on the social-emotional lives of gifted children, personality, motivation, and administrative and policy issues in gifted education. He is the recipient of the 2015 National Association for Gifted Children Doctoral Student Award and the Armand J. & Mary Faust Galfo Education Research Fellowship. E-mail: [email protected],

Thomas J. Ward

Thomas J. Ward is Professor and former Associate Dean in the School of Education at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He has been a researcher and faculty member in higher education for over 25 years. Among his primary research interests are the benefits of therapeutic riding, the use of data modeling for teaching and school improvement, the use of test data in decision making, and at-risk programs evaluation. E-mail: [email protected],

Jennifer Riedl Cross

Jennifer Riedl Cross, PhD, is the Director of Research at the William & Mary Center for Gifted Education. With a doctorate in educational psychology, specializing in cognitive and social processes, Dr. Cross is the coeditor, with Tracy L. Cross, of the Handbook for Counselors Serving Students With Gifts and Talents. She served as guest editor, with James Borland, of a special issue of Roeper Review on the topic of gifted education and social inequality. Her research in the field emphasizes the social and psychological aspects of giftedness, from individuals’ responses to the stigma of giftedness to attitudes toward giftedness and gifted education. E-mail: [email protected],

Tracy L. Cross

Dr. Tracy L. Cross holds an endowed chair, Jody and Layton Smith Professor of Psychology and Gifted Education, and serves William & Mary as the Executive Director of the Center for Gifted Education and the Institute for Research on the Suicide of Gifted Students. He has published over 150 articles, book chapters, and columns; made over 200 presentations; and published nine books. He has edited seven journals, including Roeper Review, and is the current editor of the Journal for the Education of the Gifted. He is the Past President of the National Association for Gifted Children. E-mail: [email protected],